Carolyn E. Jacobs

Now that we’ve moved into the names of Jesus, you might think we’d start with Jesus’s birth. No, Ann Spangler takes us back to the beginning. John’s gospel doesn’t have a nativity account. He goes all the way back to the beginning. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. – John 1:1 Compare this to the beginning of the Book of Beginnings which also begins with “in the beginning.” There’s no before before Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1 Jesus, the Son, the Word, the second person of the Trinity, was there…

This week’s name is Immanuel, means God with us. Matthew bookends his gospel with this promise. When Jesus was born, the Jews had been waiting over 700 years for the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. How was his coming announced? Joseph, a godly man, found himself betrothed to a pregnant woman. Not what he expected. He intended to put Mary away (divorce her) quietly UNTIL: 20 But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the…

Today, I’m going off on a bit of a tangent. Cosine, secant, tangent, sine, 3.14159! Goooo Trig! Woo-hoo! Our name this week, Immanuel, was given as a sign. One that God gave when he told Ahaz to ask for a sign. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 Now in modern, evangelical Christianity, the idea of asking for signs can make us a little uncomfortable. After all, Jesus had some harsh words for those who sought signs. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” – John  4:48 and “An evil…

Today, we begin an exploration of the names of Jesus, and we begin with the promise of his coming. Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14 If you’ve grown up in church, that’s a familiar verse. Comforting. I think of advent candles and Christmas carols. The  Charlie Brown Christmas Special. But  Yahweh gave Isaiah King Ahaz the prophecy  in the middle of a military crisis that could mean Judah’s annihilation. More than 700 years before Jesus’s birth. Why? What did King Ahaz take away from it? Let’s break…

Abba is a good Father As a father has compassion for his children, so Yahweh has compassion for those who fear him. – Psalm 103:13, Names of God version   The word translated compassion in the verse above is raham in Hebrew. It connotes loving deeply, having mercy, having tender affection, having pity or compassion. This is the character of our Father, our Abba. Abba? That’s what Jesus called him. In Hebrew, father is ab. Abba is the equivalent of Daddy. Jesus valued the time he spent with his Abba. Consider this: And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and prayed there for a time. Mark 1:35…